i'm not sure that this fiscal cliff really is a fiscal cliff. i think that it changes the baseline. republicans get better negotiating position on the other side when they are not scared to death of their own shadow and fearful of not looking reasonable. to think that the same joker who is got us this compromise will somehow get us a better compromise is absolutely silly. some of these guys have been voted out by the american public. maybe we should wait until the new people who have been through this before and just through the campaign, when they come in and change, i just have a hard time believing this congress, the one that got us into the mess we are dealing with, will somehow field a way to get out of it. >> i understand what you're saying about waiting for the new people to come in, but many of the new people coming in and many of the old people still there are not economists, they are not experts on the economy. they are not experts on the fiscal cliff. if you speak to those who know, they will tell you it is a bad thing to go over that cliff. and still you're saying maybe